Burma, America, The World, Art, Literature, Political Economy through the eyes of a Permanent Exile.
"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the oppressed. Sometimes we must interfere. . . There is so much injustice and suffering crying out for our attention . . . writers and poets, prisoners in so many lands governed by the left and by the right." Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Speech, 1986, Oslo.
This entire site copyright Kyi May Kaung unless indicated otherwise.

The junta generals are changing into civilian clothes to contest in new election which international community calls a sham.

They have barred Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD from participating, still have her and nearly 2200 political prisoners under house arrest and trapped her into withdrawing from the process.

She is barred from ever being head of state in Burma because she was "once married to a foreigner (Dr Micheal Aris, who died March 27, 1999 of prostate cancer) and is mother of "half-breed children" according to spdc's so-called "constitution" ratified in so-called "referendum" a few days after Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today called on the military regime in Burma to provide proper medical treatment to political prisoners, including Ko Mya Aye, one of the leaders of 88 Generation Students Group, who led protests in 1988 and again in 2007. CSW has also urged the international community to intervene in his case.

Ko Mya Aye is currently serving a 65 year prison sentence for his involvement in leading peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2007. On 9 April he was moved from Loikaw Prison in Karenni State to Taungyi Prison in Shan State. He has reportedly been placed in a cell on death row, with no toilet or running water, and is denied exercise. According to sources, Ko Mya Aye has suffered heart failure caused by angina, and requires urgent medical treatment. He is also suffering from hypertension and gastric problems.

Taungyi prison is 450 miles away from Rangoon and 16 miles away from Taungyi City. Ko Mya Aye needs proper medical tests that can only be carried out in Rangoon. It is believed he may require an angioplasty operation or coronary artery bypass graft. Prison authorities have so far not permitted access to any medical tests or any treatment at all, leaving him very vulnerable to another angina attack which could be extremely serious.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), at least 137 political prisoners are in poor health due to inhumane prison conditions, and are denied proper medical care. CSW has written to several governments today urging the international community to put pressure on the regime to provide proper medical treatment to political prisoners.

CSW’s East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said: “The situation for Ko Mya Aye is critical, and we urge the Burmese regime to release him, or at least to move him to Rangoon and provide the medical treatment he desperately requires. We urge the international community, including the United Nations Secretary-General, to intervene to put pressure on the Burmese regime to provide proper medical treatment for Ko Mya Aye and all political prisoners. Continued denial of medical treatment will have extremely serious consequences and should be regarded as a serious crime.”

For further information please visit www.csw.org. uk.

CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

But the majestic River floated on, Out of the mist and hum of that low land, Into the frosty starlight, and there moved, Rejoicing, through the hushed Chorasmian waste, Under the solitary moon: — he flowed Right for the polar star, past Orgunjè, Brimming, and bright, and large: then sands begin To hem his watery march, and dam his streams, And split his currents; that for many a league The shorn and parcelled Oxus strains along Through beds of sand and matted rushy isles — Oxus, forgetting the bright speed he had In his high mountain-cradle in Pamere, A foiled circuitous wanderer: — till at last The longed-for dash of waves is heard, and wide His luminous home of waters opens, bright And tranquil, from whose floor the new-bathed stars Emerge, and shine upon the Aral Sea.

P R E S S R u e d e l a L o i 1 7 5 B – 1 0 4 8 B R U S S E L S T e l . : + 3 2 ( 0 ) 2 2 8 1 8 2 3 9 / 6 3 1 9 F a x : + 3 2 ( 0 ) 2 2 8 1 8 0 2 6 press.office@consilium.europa.eu http://www.consilium.europa.eu/Newsroom 1 EN COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION EN Council conclusions on Burma/Myanmar 3009th FOREIGN AFFAIRS Council meeting Luxembourg, 26 April 2010 The Council adopted the following conclusions: "1. The Council reaffirms the EU’s unwavering commitment to the people of Burma/Myanmar. The EU remains a major donor to the country and stands ready to increase its assistance to the people of Burma/Myanmar, in order to improve their social and economic conditions. 2. The Council calls upon the authorities of Burma/Myanmar to take steps to bring about a peaceful transition to a democratic, civilian and inclusive system of government. The Council underlines that the political and socio-economic challenges facing the country can only be addressed through genuine dialogue between all stakeholders, including the ethnic groups and the opposition. 3. The Council expresses its serious concerns that election laws as published in early March do not provide for free and fair elections and notes that the authorities of Burma/Myanmar still have to take the steps necessary to make the planned elections later this year a credible, transparent and inclusive process. The Council reiterates its call for the release of the political prisoners and detainees, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. 4. The Council deems it necessary to extend the restrictive measures provided for in the current EU Decision by another year. The Council underlines its readiness to revise, amend or reinforce the measures it has already adopted in light of developments on the ground. The EU stands ready to respond positively to genuine progress in Burma/Myanmar. 5. To help achieve the progress needed, the EU is ready to continue its dialogue with the authorities of Burma/Myanmar and all other relevant stakeholders. It intends to send an exploratory mission to the country, in order to hold high level talks, in the hope of building trust and helping the political process to move towards the intended goals. 2 EN 6. The Council expresses its strong support for the continued work of EU Special Envoy Piero Fassino and invites the Burma/Myanmar authorities to cooperate fully with him. 7. The Council urges the government of Burma/Myanmar to engage more with the international community, to work towards a peaceful transition to democracy. It reaffirms the EU’s support for the Good Offices Mission of the UN Secretary General and welcomes his continued personal commitment to further the political process, and calls upon the authorities of Burma/Myanmar to engage with the UN in a meaningful manner. The EU will continue to actively support the group of friends of the UNSG and raise the situation in the country, and its possible implications for regional stability, with key actors, including ASEAN and its Member States, the United States, Australia, China, India, Japan and Russia. 8. The Council welcomes the ASEAN Chairman's statement of 9 April 2010 from the 16th Summit, which underscored the importance of national reconciliation in Myanmar and the holding of the general election in a free, fair and inclusive manner. The Council also welcomes statements from individual ASEAN members, as well as Japan, on the need for release of all political prisoners and detainees, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The EU looks forward to a continued close dialogue with our ASEAN partners on the issue - next time at the upcoming EU/ASEAN ministerial in May in Madrid. 9. The Council welcomes the adoption of Resolution 13/25 of the UN Human Rights Council, and endorses the Progress report by the UN Special Rapporteur, Mr Quintana. It calls upon the authorities of Burma/Myanmar to cooperate with him in a constructive manner and comply in full with the UN's recommendations, by taking urgent measures to put an end to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law." _________________

Kyi May Kaung: Burmese dissidant and human rights advocate Dr. Kyi May Kaung will discuss mass human rights abuses leading up to Burmese so-called election of October 10, 2010 (?). She is planning on bringing Ms. Wa Wa Maw, the fiancee of a US Citizen now sentenced to 3 years + in Burma for his activities.

Note: Nyi Nyi Aung was released and deported back to USA by Burmese junta in March.

April 25, Sunday, 5-6 PM Nicaro's, Silver Spring, Georgia Av.

Kyi May Kaung "Scream Louder" A poetry reading of Dr. Kaung’s own and other dissident poetry. Dr. Kaung is a Burmese dissident, whose poetry has been anthologized in Norton ‘s "Language for a New Century," as well as published in Counterpunch, Glass, Poet Lore, Asian-American Poetry etc. She is also profiled with Thich Hnat Hanh, Yoko Ono and others on MAP (Museum of American Poetics).

(60 minutes)

My portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi is on display at Kefa Café, 963 Bonifant St. Silver Spring MD through month of April 2010.

Book review by Kyi May Kaung.U Win Tin, What’s That? A Human Hell. (In Burmese)Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners, Burma, 12 March 2010, Maesod, Thailand. 318 pages.

U Win Tin (U=Mr. or Uncle, a sign of respect) a close associate and advisor of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, also known as the chief strategist of the National League for Democracy, spent 19 years in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison, most of it in solitary confinement.On his 80th birthday recently, the AAPPB released his prison memoir, What’s That? A Human Hell, immediately creating a buzz in the Burmese dissident and exile communities. Two Burmese women, one a dissident blogger, one perhaps a closet dissident, sent me electronic copies, saying they had read it straight through, even though they had “other things to do.” It had the same effect on me, even though I read Burmese slowly now and don’t like reading long pieces on line.Win Tin said he spent “more than 7000 days” in prison and does not know much about it. He was often punished for his continued activism in prison by being placed in solitary, or worse in “the center of hell, the dog cells” where army dogs barked at him “wone wone wone, at night and waung waung waung in the day time.” Instead, he used his prison time to try and live a life with friends, speaking up for common criminals when he needed to, creating a surrogate family, doing many good deeds, plumbing the depths of his own psyche and political philosophies.What emerges is a crusty, cussed, stubborn old man, who still keeps wearing his blue prison garb but who has refused to let his principles ever be compromised. In the introduction he lists his losses: his home, his adopted daughter forced into exile, his gums bare because he lost his teeth in prison beatings and “missing one of the organs I was born with” – a testicle due to an overdue operation for a strangulated hernia in a dirty prison hospital cell.Win Tin is a genius at the short-hand political slogan or survival tactics for prison. We learn that the political demands, Suu, Hlut, Twe, Hpwe, forSuu – let Suu and all political prisoners goHlut – for Hluttaw or parliamentTwe for dialogHpwe for freedom to organize,which I first heard of only in 2009 while working for the exile government, and which are now the sticking points forcing the NLD to vote that it will not participate in the sham elections this year, were really formulated by Win Tin and his prison colleagues as early as 1994. He relates how he told this to Bill Richardson, who saw him in prison.Win Tin does not have much respect for western analysts’ take on Burma. Of the 1994 Time magazine cover story, he says:. . . if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Lt. Col. Khin Nyunt (then the most powerful man in Burma, deposed and arrested in 2004 in an internal purge) were to meet and dialog and work out a give and take situation (Oh my God!), Burma’s ah me boke big yarn tangle would become immediately clear and untangled. Time wrote that thread by thread it would all be unraveled and come out straight shaw ka ne, phyaw ka ne, chaw ka ne.After reading that piece I became even more dejected and heavy hearted. I did not see anything becoming clearer.American media and society are quite problematical. They have in their heads some rigid beliefs, . . . some scattershot ideas like puffed rice confetti, flying all over the place.They’re like the phrase from Saya Zawgyi’s poem –ma thi wowa, htin wowa – vague, ignorant, muddled.Look now, Time has done it again, depicting Khin Nyunt as the savior of Burma. What dialog? Is Khin Nyunt going to arrange it so democracy activists and authoritarians can’t stop talking to each other? Ha ha, ha ha! Please moderate your brilliant ideas, American experts! p. 159.

Win Tin uses the Burmese language in an amazing way. His sentences are full of internal rhymes, literary allusions, prison jargon, synonyms and spoonerisms; poetic, witty, rough, rude, scatological and truthful, all at the same time, with a brilliant use of metaphor.In this human hell, this hellish whirlpool, we are still struggling, swimming upstream, downstream. p.148.. . . barking and hacking at us.Odd and weird, wodd and ierd.He won’t be easy to translate, but someone qualified should.As Win Tin himself might say, so-called Burma experts seldom can read Burmese and time is showing their take on Burma is very off the mark, tangled as it is in their own tech-speak and “diplomatese.” Or “diplomatease.” *Burma watcher Dr. Kyi May Kaung is a bilingual poet and writer, who has worked in the Burmese pro-democracy movement for over a decade. She is on the Technical Advisory Network of the Burmese Democratic Government in Exile. The quotations in this piece were translated by her.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

ASEAN’s dream may not come true if it fails to tame its unprincipled member, Burma

By – Zin Linn

At the end of the 16th ASEAN Summit in the Vietnamese capital Ha Noi on April 9, the Chairman of ASEAN Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung called on Burma/Myanmar to stick to its “road map to democracy” and hold free, fair and inclusive elections.

Nguyen Tan Dung further said, “We were briefed by H.E. Prime Minister Thein Sein of Myanmar on recent political developments and the progress made in the implementation of the Roadmap for Democracy, especially the preparations for the general election in Myanmar in 2010.We underscored the importance of national reconciliation in Myanmar and the holding of the general election in a free, fair, and inclusive manner, thus contributing to Myanmar’s stability and development. We also stressed the need that Myanmar would continue to work with ASEAN and United Nations in this process.”

The Heads of the ASEAN Member States, gathered in Ha Noi for the 16th ASEAN Summit on 8-9 April 2010 also agreed that ASEAN would act swiftly at national, regional and global levels to achieve sustained economic recovery and development for ASEAN in the aftermath of the global economic and financial crisis. ASEAN is superficially committed to accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the South-East Asia region, to strengthen the institution for a prosperous and composed community of Southeast Asian nations. So far one of its members is a military-ruled nation that pays no attention to the norms of the grouping. How can the association ignore the recalcitrance of its desperado member, Burma or Myanmar?

ASEAN aims to promote regional peace and stability through respect for justice and the rule of law compliant with the U.N. Charter. It has just stressed the importance of bringing the ASEAN Charter into life in all aspects at the earliest.

Yet it shuts its eyes while extrajudicial killings and violence against women and children take place daily in Burma, one of its members. There is no law and order at all under Burma’s military dictatorship.

Burma, world's worst human rights violator

People of Burma have suffered under high-handed military rulers since 1962. The regime has earned a reputation as one of the world's worst human rights violators. It inhumanly suppressed pro-democracy movements in 1988, followed by, during the Depayin conspiracy on May 30, 2003, and in the Saffron Revolution in September 2007, as well as in many other sporadic crackdowns. The junta has arrested nearly 2,200 political dissidents including the Nobel laureate of Burma, who has been confined to her residence for the 14 of the last 20 years.

The regime held a deceptive referendum at gunpoint in May, 2008, just a few days after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country. The junta said its 2008 Constitution was “approved” by more than 90 per cent of the qualified voters in the referendum, which has been widely dismissed as a fraud.

The worst of the so-called Nargis Constitution is that it provides the blanket immunity to the members of the military junta for their past human rights violations. It also provides a special status for military to live above the law and to practice coup at its will. However, to prevent the participation of key political figures, the 2008 constitution bars the political prisoners including the Lady and the ethnic leaders to contest in the polls. The constitution also does not recognize the ethnic people’s demand for a federal union guaranteeing self-determination and equal opportunity.

The regime has ignored calls from the international community and Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, to review the 2008 Constitution, which will only bring further troubles to the Burmese people.

People are convinced that, like the referendum held at gunpoint, the secret ballot will not be free, fair and inclusive. The junta may not be able to deal with the worsening socio-economic situation if it continues to turn down the national reconciliation process being urged by the opposition NLD, the United Nationalities Alliance and the Association of the Veteran Politicians. Without National Reconciliation settlement, Burma may not prevail over the current political and economic hardships.

Three key benchmarks at least for good start

In the mean time, ‘Burma’s movement for Democracy and Rights of Ethnic Nationalities’ which represents multi-ethnic political and civil society organizations inside and outside the country working for national reconciliation, has expressed three key benchmarks toward the military regime. Three key benchmarks are to release all political prisoners, to stop all hostilities against ethnic and pro-democracy groupings and inclusive dialogue with key stakeholders plus review of 2008 Constitution. Those benchmarks are appropriate as minimum conditions to be met to begin a good start for peaceful Burma.

But, the character of the junta shows clearly that it has no plan to pay attention to international and domestic concerns, release political prisoners or commence a dialogue for reconciliation. According to a Burmese forecaster, it is baseless to believe that the military dictators are going to build a democratic country by means of the 2008 constitution and it is also useless to wait for a helping hand from the ASEAN for democratization in this military ruled country.

Peoples from all walks of life are severely suffering from a lot of miseries under the military regime which is in the saddle for nearly five decades. The consequences of this reign of violence produce spilling over effects directly into territories of the neighboring countries, especially Thailand and Malaysia.

Burmese workers flee to Thailand

Over the past two decades, more than a million Burmese workers have fled to Thailand. This has placed tremendous pressure on the Thai governments which has been facing its own civil unrests. Trans-border crime has gone up with a massive influx of narcotics drugs, including heroin and methamphetamines. Trafficking in women and children has increased along the 2,400 km-long Thailand-Burma border. The regime's neglect of health-care has also produced a new HIV/AIDS flow into neighboring countries.

Within the country, the living standards of average citizens are rapidly falling. The situation is alarming even on the outskirts of Yangon. According to the UN estimation, one child in three under the age of five is suffering from malnutrition.

The junta’s generals are well-bred gentlemen in front of the ASEAN counterparts where as they are the inhumane dictators to their own populace, especially to the various ethnic groups in Burma.

ASEAN has agreed at the end of the 16th ASEAN Summit that it would act swiftly at national, regional and global levels to achieve sustained economic recovery and development for ASEAN in the aftermath of the global economic and financial crisis. If ASEAN failed to take responsibility taming of its unprincipled member, ASEAN’s dream - Strategy for Economic Recovery and Development – may not come true due to lack of teamwork among member countries, especially Burma the black sheep.

The suffering of the people of Burma has been going on for five decades. The member nations have a moral duty to do whatever they can to help the people of Burma reach a peaceful and sustainable political settlement. No effort may cause a dire reputation toward the association.

In conclusion, ASEAN ought to support three key benchmarks - to release all political prisoners, to stop all hostilities against ethnic and pro-democracy groupings and inclusive dialogue with key stakeholders plus review of 2008 Constitution – solving Burma question as well as raising the association’s dignity higher. People of Burma need ASEAN’s sympathy.

Zin Linn:The author, a freelance Burmese journalist, lives in exile. He is vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.

"The time has come for America to hear the truth . . . There comes a time when silence is betrayal . . . Millions have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. There are those who are seeking to equate dissent with disloyalty. It's a dark day in our nation when high level authorities will seek to use every method to silence dissent. Something is happening and people are not going to be silenced. The truth must be told. "

Nowruz – A celebration of Iranian New Year Nowruz, or new day, is the celebration of the Spring Equinox. It is the most cherished of all Iranian festivals and has been observed in one form or another by major cultures of ancient Mesopotamia. Today Nowruz, with its uniquely Iranian characteristics, is a celebration of Spring and the Creation of Life. Seven trays filled with symbolic objects representing truth, justice, good thoughts, good deeds, virtue, prosperity, generosity and long life are displayed. Stop by and sample food, see displays of traditional Nowruz tables, Iranian books and handicrafts. Sponsored by Iranian Faculty, NEIUEvent Hosts: Saba Ayman-Nolley, Simin Hemmati-Rasmussen4:15 pm – 5:30 pm Golden Eagles 3-31-2010

2:50 pm – 4:05 pm Golden EaglesDisasters: Vulnerability and the Politics of Reconstruction ‘Tsunami Recovery in Sri Lanka: Ethnic and Regional Dimensions ’ (2010)Introduction: Job Ngwe, Assistant Professor, Social Work Department, NEIUPresenter: Michele R Gamburd, Professor, Anthropology, Portland State University; co-author, Tsunami Recovery in Sri Lanka: Ethnic and Regional Dimensions, (2010)The Indian Ocean Tsunami devastated 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s coastline and killed an estimated 35,000 people. It was remarkable both for the magnitude of the disaster and for the unprecedented scale of relief and recovery operations mounted by national and international agencies. The reconstruction process was hampered by political patronage, by competing efforts of hundreds of foreign humanitarian organizations, and by the ongoing civil war. This presentation is framed within this larger political and social context, offering descriptions and comparisons between two regions (southwest vs. eastern coast) and four ethnic communities (Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and Burghers) to illustrate how disaster relief unfolded in a culturally pluralistic political landscape. Event Host: Evelyn Rivera-Swint4:15 pm – 5:30 pm Golden EaglesRelief Efforts: A Global ChallengeIntroduction: Presenters: Red Cross representative

7:05 pm – 8:30 pm Golden EaglesDAM/AGE, a film with Arundhati Roy - A Video Presentation/Discussion on the Narmada Dam Introduction: Jerry Mostek, Instructor, Geography and Environmental Studies, NEIUCo-Presenters: Abhijit Banerjee, Assistant Professor, Geography and Environmental Studies, NEIU Suvarup Saha, Human Rights Activist, Ph.D. Candidate, Northwestern University In October 2001, the supreme court in India charged Arundhati Roy with contempt of court. This is the story of the events that led to her arrest Event Host: Abhijit Banerjee UPCOMING EVENTS: April 2-3, 2010 Auditorium8:00 pmThe China Project: The 2010 Ruth Page Dance Series presents this culminating dance presentation, following faculty member Venetia Stifler and her dance company, CDI/Concert Dance Inc’s visit to Nanjing Normal University in 2009. Combining contemporary and classical Chinese dance artists on one stage, dancers from NNU will present their breathtaking style of classical Chinese dance, and CDI will present a stunning program that includes a preview of their newest work, “Irregular Pearls,” based on the company’s two-week journey and exploration of the Chinese dance aesthetic and culture in May 2009; tickets at box office; free to NEIU students, faculty and staffApril 5, 2010 Auditorium7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Cultural Dance Program by Korean dance and music chorus groups For more information, contact Academic Development 773-442-5441, y-ranney@neiu.eduAll Events are Free and Open to the Public

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